Taking place on the Istrian peninsula during Venetian Republican rule, the story tells about Jože, a friendly and good-hearted giant.

[1] While sojourning in Motovun, Nazor noticed a big and rugged guy on the street, who was carrying a large trunk almost bigger than himself on his shoulder.

The action begins when the provveditore Barbabianka, šjor Zvane and the guard of Motovun forest go about Istria to mark with lime the Turkey oaks that they will cut down and take away to Venice.

The provveditore is riding on a donkey, which at one point jumps up, for he sees a haystack next to some shack where a beautiful Turkey oak is growing.

The streets in Motovun are crowded with armed people, the bell rings because Jože is seen coming, even though he is forbidden to enter the city because it is his duty to work in the fields and in the woods for the municipality.

[1][4][3][2][5] The indulgence and delight seemed to Barbabianka so sincere, that he almost saw for himself that his mother had given birth to him as a hero, and he stood up even more magnificently in the armchair.

Proto and a few others ask Jože to stay in Motovun because he is worth a lot to them, citing numerous examples of serfs helping them out, but most are still in favor of him leaving in the hope that he will drown during the trip.

For the first time in his life, Jože, in his grief and nostalgia for Motovun, thinks that his masters are unjust to him because they are sending him away from his country.

The dog does not give up on a bone and chases the stranger out of his yard; but you, Jože, let the little people trample on you and suck your spirit - you, who are so strong.

[1][4][3][2][5] Jože has been carried ashore by the sea on the shore of Raška draga, people who see him instantly say that this giant must have destroyed the ship.

When the giants see that mass climbing up on them, running, trying to overcome them, they obey Jože and easily sweep them away.

[6][1][4][3][2][5] After managing to retreat, the army encamps on Štrigina glavica, where Civetta laughs at their failure and advises them to send someone to talk to the needed serfs and persuade them to return.

When they are ready to return to the city as penitents, Jože decides to give them the silver and gold that Jurić has excavated, for which they were so mad about.

When people in the city hear that the citizens are working for the serfs, they consider it the greatest shame and betrayal, and decide to punish whoever is accountable for it.

When, after the harvest, everyone heads back to the city, Civetta says that he is staying because he thinks the serfs have not yet achieved freedom, and that gold was the only reason why the citizens were workings with Jože.

[1][4][3][2][5] The biggest dispute is over the valley between Psoglavčeva brda and Štrigina glavica: Civetta suggests that it belongs to Jože because he cultivated it, but the serfs now think that that is the best piece of land.

All the giants swear after signing the contracts that Civetta has prepared, that they will respect everybody except Jože, who is not there and who just told them that the valley is his and that they should not come over there.

When Mark returns bruised to the city, Liberat persuades his friends to gather and go and attack Jože because he's not stronger than all of them together.

He felt a storm in his chest, a noise in his ears, and before his eyes Liberat's image trembled, blurry like the image of a beast in the twilight mist[1][5] No one is allowed to approach the corpse for two days, and Civetta takes advantage of the situation by exaggerating events to the serfs, instilling in them even greater fear.

[1][4][3][2][5] The last to leave the spot is Civetta, taking with him the great Jože to Motovun, feeling like the greatest winner of all, the one who succeeded in what neither the knights, the army nor all the citizens put together managed to do.

He now knows what it's like to be free, to work for yourself, but on the other hand he considers himself a sinner because he killed a man and a friend, harmed them, and thinks he deserves to be a serf again.

He experienced freedom; knew what it means to be your own; he was convinced that the citizens were worse than him, that there was nothing to fear from them[1][5] At one point Jože looks at the sea and a sailing ship and sees oars.

In addition, it shows greed in giants and "small" people alike, because when one gains freedom and becomes conscious of it, one often forgets what it was like not to have it, stops appreciating what he has, and directs all their energy to wanting to have whatever they don't have.

[1] The importance of this novel is that it emphasizes how much freedom is worth and how when you don't have it for long time and forget about it (or never had it at all), you accept slavery as something normal.

Veli Jože hardly remembered freedom, he imagined it, but these were memories from the ancient past, which he probably wasn't even sure were real.

Although Jože was a very powerful giant, he felt powerless and small before his masters, he did not see his strength and the possibilities he had.

[1] At one point, Jože opened his eyes and realized his situation, that he was trapped and that he was being run by people who were weaker than him.

[1] But over time, people manage to bring unrest, simply under the motto divide et impera, and the giants out of greed end up wanting to kill Jože.

The giants, who united thanks to Jože, his leadership, ideas and vision, turn against him because of money, land and the desire to have more, and in the end they are left with nothing.

[1] The story ends in an optimistic way, because despite betrayal and disappointment, Jože emerges victorious, does not allow people to capture him again, remembers freedom and its value, and manages to preserve it.